Charleston Vacation

On Friday we left for our Charleston Vacation. We stopped in Augusta for the night to break up the five and half hour drive, but were up and away early and arrived in Charleston before lunchtime. We stopped at the Visitor's Center to pick up some brochures, then checked into the King Charles Hotel on Meeting Street. It was said that Edgar Allen Poe stayed here while he was stationed at Ft Moultrie and worked on a story called The Gold Bug.
After checking in we set out to find some lunch and then on to Ft Sumter. Alex has just finished studying the Civil War, so she was very excited to see the place where it all began.

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Alex in the garden.

The Cooper River Bridge.

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On Sunday we went to Patriot's Point to tour some of the ships. First we saw the aircraft carrier Yorktown. It was huge and it took us a couple of hours just to finish two of the five tours available. We went down to see the berths and living areas and other areas below deck first. We can't wait to try out this recipe for chocolate chip cookies!

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Then we went to see the submarine. It was a very tight squeeze!

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Then we went on a destroyer. Not as big as the aircraftt carrier, but plenty of decks to tour. Dave wants one of these lockers for his office...






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We took a Ghost Walk that night. It seems Charleston is a very haunted city! Casey was especially interested in the restaurant haunted by a dog named Poogan. And she was really scared of the Boohags, so don't even mention them!
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Monday morning we walked through the South Carolina Aquarium. Alex and Casey loved the hands on Amazon exhibit and the tank for touching the sea urchins and other animals.

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We were so close to the ocean we just had to spend one afternoon at the beach. We drove about 10 miles to the Isle of Palms and found a place to get our feet wet. A little chillly, but irresistable...

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On the way home we stopped near Augusta and visited the Sumter National Forest. It was a great day for a hike in the woods!